When the Shah of Persia, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, officially visited the Federal Republic of Germany from May 27 to June 4, 1967, along with his third wife, Farah Diba, the press and the media praised her beauty, elegance, and culture, while ignoring the political situation and living conditions in Iran.

Ulrike Marie Meinhof, a journalist who made an impact with her articles at that time, chose to address Farah Diba, Mrs. Pahlavi, in order to reveal the truth about the Shah of Persia and Iran to the German public, by writing and publishing in the magazine konkret the "Open Letter to Farah Diba", without failing to criticize both the political leadership of Germany and the role of the German press.
Students of the Pedagogical School of the Free University of Berlin used Meinhof's letter and drafted a proclamation, which they distributed during the protests against the Shah on June 2, 1967. Among other points, they stated: "This 'Open Letter to Farah Diba' aims to contribute to the understanding of the protests against inhumane living conditions, regardless of whether they exist in Germany, Vietnam, Greece, Persia, or any other part of the world."
The outcome of that day's mobilizations in Berlin was many injured and one dead. A few days later, Meinhof would be heard saying in her commentary on German television about the Shah's visit: "The protests against the leader of a police state exposed our own state as a police state. The terrorism of the police and the press reached its peak on June 2 in Berlin."
Meinhof's letter is translated and published together with the text of the student proclamation, accompanied by an extensive afterword on both herself and the political history of Iran and Germany.